Madagascar
It's been several years now that I've been talking to Alasdair Harris at Blue Ventures.

This is a terrific organization doing great work in Madagascar and Belize.

In Spring 2003, Blue Ventures established its permanent field research site in Southwest Madagascar. The research team is based in a group of comfortable self-contained wooden eco-cabins situated on a coral outcrop overlooking white sandy beaches and blue lagoon beyond.

The small fishing villages of Andavadoaka and Ampasilava lie on the edge of a shallow lagoon, protected from the open ocean by a series of fringing reefs. In addition to the extensive fringing reefs, several banks rise up in the lagoon, and a series of uninhabited offshore islets and submerged barrier reefs also support substantial coral growth, providing a vital resource base for local traditional and artisanal fisheries.

The project was launched as a collaborative venture between Blue Ventures Conservation and the Institut Halieutique et des Sciences Marines (IHSM) in response to the need to develop a better understanding of the areas unique marine and coastal habitats.

Owing to their remoteness and isolation, as well as the large distance of the Andavadoaka reef systems from the nearest scientifically-studied reef habitats in south-western Madagascar (situated in the Ranobe region some 250km south of Andavadoaka) these coral reefs are thought to possess a significantly different and higher abundance and diversity of species than other reefs in Madagascar.

Despite the uniqueness of this marine habitat, no data on the status of the reefs existed prior to the establishment of our research site in the area.